Brush Balloon Bash makes high flying return

A balloonist and a rider float through the skies over Brush during a past balloon festival. (File photo/Brush News-Tribune)

Get ready for the sight of beautiful balloons to blaze through Brush skies as the Hot Air Balloon Festival makes a return for a third consecutive year.This year's festival will be held over the weekend of Saturday, September 8 through Sunday, September 9 near the VFW Memorial Park in Brush. Committee members Dan Scalise, Brenda Griffith, Jackie Hamburg and Lori Jarrell have been hard at work coordinating the third annual event that will feature a total of eight hot-air balloons with pilots hailing from places such as Denver, Wellington, Fort Collins, Castle Rock, Wheat Ridge, Eaton and even as far away as Nebraska and Cheyenne, Wyoming with three new pilots joining the ranks this year. Hot air balloon rides won't be the only attraction for the 2012 affair as a number of games, vendors, booths and bands will also be on hand to provide entertainment for both the young and young-at-heart. “This year Jackie (Hamburg) has done an amazing job of bringing together different family activities that are not often seen in Morgan County,” said committee member Lori Jarrell. “This will be a great family opportunity and is growing more and more every year.”Once again, Knapp Productions will bring musical entertainment and performances to the Brush area and games will include trampoline bungy-jumping by Vertical Amusement, a bubble pool, climbing wall, bouncy house and even Pony Express pony rides and a petting zoo.

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The Brush Transportation Department will also set up a dunking booth with funds obtained going towards their summer reading camps and reading-in-schools cause. A Fishing Derby will be held in conjunction with the event again this year for kids up to 14 years-of-age at Doty Pond. Nearly 20 vendors are scheduled to be on hand with arts, crafts and an assortment of foods to feed the heartiest of appetites ranging from smoothies, ice cream and Mexican food to turkey legs. Those who want to enjoy the thrill of the hot air balloon rides can also participate in balloon-tethering rides that will cost 10 cents per pound for any rider and the always remarkable Balloon Glow will again make a return on Saturday night. Sponsors have already begun to purchase the hot air balloon rides but anyone interested in going up themselves can still contact Dan Scalise at (970) 768-3971 or Brenda Griffith at (970) 380-9097 for more information.The committee also is seeking a number of volunteers to help over the two-day event.Anyone interested can either show up at 6:15 a.m. those mornings to help setup balloons or call for more information. Volunteers should bring gloves and wear tennis shoes. The event will also run in conjunction with the highly-anticipated Beetdigger Alumni Weekend events and pilots may even be introduced to crowds who gather at the Brush vs. Fort Morgan football game in Brush on Friday, September 7. That night, Eben Ezer will host a dinner engagement for the pilots where each will be provided a gift basket during the “Mexican Fiesta”. “The pilots here this year have returned each year now and they really enjoy this festival,” Dan Scalise noted. “They all had options to gather at other balloon festivals that same weekend but chose to come back to Brush.”Despite the fact that weather conditions could certainly put a damper on the hot air balloon rides, as was the case during day two of last year's event, the fun, rides, music, food and games will continue without concern, providing fun for all ages no matter the weather. “The pilots are always very cooperative and cautious,” noted Scalise, “and they know when it is appropriate to launch. We don't dictate that portions, we just go by what they say as they are the experts.”Sponsors who have signed up to support the 2012 Hot Air Balloon Festival in Brush include Morgan County's B106, Morgan County Tourism, the Econo Lodge, Eben Ezer, Xcel Energy, the Brush Chamber of Commerce, Hill Petroleum and the City of Brush.For more information on how you can help support the festival, volunteer or participate in games, contact Brenda Griffith at (970) 380-9097, or Dan Scalise at (970) 768-3971. A tentative schedule of events is featured below: Saturday, September 8Sunrise Balloon Launch: 6:29 a.m. Kid's Fun Area and GamesBalloon Tethering (10-cents per pound) at Doty PondFishing Derby: 4 to 6 p.m. Prizes available!Food CourtArts & Crafts BoothsEntertainment and BandsBalloon Glow at Prairie Trails Park: 7:16 p.m. Sunday, September 9Sunrise Balloon Launch: 6:30 a.m. Food CourtArts & Crafts BoothsEntertainmentKid's Fun Area

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